Reasons for Project The most inspirational part of out world is art. A canvas of seemingly scribbles can change a persons life... or completely bore them. Art is so versatile; interpretation is the hands of the viewer. Art is expression, inspiration, perspiration. I strive to better the world through art, specically by exploring new mediums of doing such. Currently I am experimenting with casein binders and food pigments to make paint. Sharing my knowledge with others will quite possibly inspire a chain reaction of casein paintings. Many paints are made from harsh chemicals, and are purely factory produced. I want to make paint from natural substances that will look just a good as factory paint, without all the harsh chemicals. I would be experimenting with different dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and plants to create natural pigments and binders that would be a feasible options for painters. Introduction to Casein Painting Research There are many ways of extracting casein proteins from milk to use as a paint binder. I have already explored curdling the milk with vinegar, to create quark, and adding water to powdered milk. Many different companies such as Earth Pigments Co. and the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co., Inc. sell natural paint made from milk. Adding distilled white vinegar to nonfat milk causes the milk to curdle by isolating the casein protein, separating from the liquid whey in the milk. A cream of hydrated lime and water will dissolve the curds, creating a smooth syrup-like solution that is known as quark. Once the quark is made from natural, fresh ingredients without added preservatives, it only keeps for ten days at the most. Other methods for making a milk casein binder include adding borax to the curds instead of lime to induce hydrolysis to occur. An alternative source of casein is dried nonfat milk. This nonfat milk powder is made from depredating milk that has been removed of most of its fat content. Casein protein is the most abundant protein in nonfat milk powder. Approximately 36% of the milk powder is protein (the other 56% is lactose) (Lee, 2011). Casein is a slow protein; it is released slowly during protein synthesis. When the milk powder is added to water, it can form a paste or liquid. Dyes can be made from fruit and vegetables by boiling water and placing fruit/ vegetables in water to extract the pigments. The fruit/vegetables release some of their Mary Pearson 2 pigment into the water. If crushed and added to the pigmented water, a sort of paste can be formed (Reid, 2006), but seeds and innards of berries affect the color of the paste. The amount of water and fruit/vegetables affects the hue, vibrance, deepness, and thickness of the dye substance. I found the vibrancy, deepness, texture, consistency, and different hues from different amounts of water, and from the two different casein paint binders. The juice of the substances was recorded as a control. I used 5 mL and 10 mL of water for my pigment trials. I also tested both methods of making a casein binder to test which would make the most vibrant color of each type of fruit/vegetable. I predicted that the less water used would create a more vibrant color, a deeper shade, and a thicker dye substance, and that the binder made from powdered milk would make the most vibrant color in all paint mixtures. I predicted that powdered milk would be smooth and moderately thick, and the quark would be chunky and very What I Have Done Methods Tried Casein binders and fruit/vegetable pigments were produced in the kitchen of the Pearson residence on November 2, 2013 from 2:00PM-10:00PM. .47 liters of skim milk were left to sit out until they were room temperature, at which point they were mixed with 59 milliliters of distilled white vinegar. This mixture was set aside for one hour and then was strained through a cheese cloth and rinsed three times with water to create quark. Five grams of borax were added to the quark. After fteen minutes, the mixture had become translucent white and syrupy, ready to use. 118 grams of skim milk powder was mixed with 118 milliliters of water to create a thick liquid. Fruits/vegetables were boiled in a glass cup with 5 mL of water and then 10 mL of water. The glass cup was placed inside a metal pan of boiling water that was on the stove to maintain its boiling state. Fruits/vegetables released colors into the water, and then were removed. The colored water was used as dye. The fruits/vegetables used were red cabbage, raspberries, blueberries, and carrots. The different colored liquids were added in equal parts to the the different binders to create paint. This paint was then applied to a piece of paper in table format. The colors were compared to the Pantone Color Chart and were assigned numbers based on their hue and vibrancy.
Mary Pearson 3 Discussion Results The color values between the different substances are signicantly different. The carrots and red cabbage color values are signicantly similar between their different amounts of water; the raspberries and blueberries had a mix of signicantly similar and signicantly different color values between their different amounts of water. The Pantone Color Values represent the hue and vibrancy of colors. The three paints (whether the juice, quark, or powdered milk) of each substance (blueberries, carrots, raspberries, red cabbage), with the different amounts of water (5mL and 10mL), had very similar hues for most of the types of substances, and the quark was generally more vibrant than the juice, which was generally more vibrant than the powdered milk. The juice was very thin and matte, the quark was syrupy and very shiny when dried, and the powdered milk was very think when wet, but foamy, clumpy, and it cracked and aked when dried. The deepness of the different substances, in order from most deep to least deep, are as follows: raspberries, blueberries, red cabbage, carrots. Though powdered milk was the thickest mixture when wet, its foaminess, clumpiness, cracked and akey surface, and dull colors, indicated its imprudent use as a paint binder. Whenever used, the powdered milk binder creates paint that will chip off. The juice of the substances proved to have moderately vibrant colors and had little texture, and would be useful in some types of painting (such as water color etc.). The quark proved to be the most useful type of paint binder with its moderately thick consistency when wet, vibrant colors, and slight sheen when dried. Most powdered milk contains 36% casein (Lee, 2011) , where the quark was mostly casein, diluted by only 5 grams of borax (Johnson, 2011). It can be concluded that purer casein makes for a better paint binder. Many artists use quark as a binder for their painting medium. Adding equal parts quark and pigment will produce the results of this experiment. Other experiments have been performed to nd that less binder and more pigment will produce a more opaque paint, while more binder and less pigment will create a more transparent, glaze-like paint. The less opaque (and therefore more quark binder) a casein paint is, the more water resistant it will be (Fraley, 2011). The idea of using quark as a paint binder has been around for centuries. Theopilius (1300s) and Cennini (1600s) both recording this casein recipe, along with added heat, would make an excellent glue (di Lorenzo, 2011). Both artists, they Mary Pearson 4 discovered the use of casein as a wood glue after nishing with their paintings. Today casein is most often used to make plastics (di Lorenzo, 2011). What I Will Do Research I intend to further my research on the subject of casein painting and create better quality paint. I will research the chemical formulas of casein and food pigments used, and companies that make organic paint. I will experiment with my homemade pigments compared to pigments bought from organic companies. I will also do multiple trials of each type of pigment and casein binder in search of the perfect consistency. I will use the best casein binder recipe to make a painting, and then use acrylic paint to make a similar painting for comparison. Audience I will compile a presentation board with all the research I have done over the course of the project, and present it to a diverse audience. I will display my paintings and talk to parents, students, and administrators, explaining my project and receiving ideas and feedback. Milestones February 11th-17th: Sketch painting design February 18th-24th: Do research on which pigments to use for natural paint February 24th-28th: Make paint-by-numbers key and a color palette for both paintings March 3rd-14th: Start painting acrylic painting, have all base colors completed, and make notes about vibrancy, consistency, workability, transparency, and texture (CWTTV) March 14th-21st: Do all shading on acrylic painting, notes on CWTTV March 24th-April 11th: Experiment with the different consistencies of casein paint April 12th-14th: Start painting casein painting, have all base colors completed, notes on CWTTV April 14th-22nd- Do all shading on casein painting, notes on CWTTV April 23rd-28th: Finish up casein research April 28th-May 2nd: Work on Showcase products May 2nd-21st: Work on Showcase board and products Mary Pearson 5 Bibliography di Lorenzo, Antonia. 2011. Casein Glue. Medieval Life. http:// mymedievallife.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/casein-glue/ (30 Oct. 2013) Fraley, M. (2011). Recipe for the Casein Binder. Casein Painting. Huntington, H. (2011). Natural Plant Dyes. Taylor and Francis Group. Lee, Matthew. 2011. Skim Milk Powder Vs. Whey Protein Powder. Live Strong. http://www.livestrong.com/article/387006-skim-milk-powder-vs-whey/ (30 Oct. 2013). Johnson, B. (2011). Milk Paint. Earth Pigments Co. Reid, Carter. 2006. Extracting Dye from Fruit. Demand Media, Inc. http:// www.ehow.com/how_8841_extract-dye-fruit.html (30 Oct. 2013).